Men's Tennis Mauls Bearcats

WALLA WALLA, Wash. – Whitman College men's tennis, having already wrapped up the Northwest Conference regular-season title, kept its foot firmly on the gas pedal with a 7–0 sweep of Willamette on Saturday morning at the Whitman Tennis Courts.

The Blues improved to 14–5 overall and 13–0 in NWC play with the dominant performance, while the Bearcats fell to 2–13 and 1–12 in the conference. Whitman controlled the match from the opening serve, racing through doubles to secure the first point and never looking back in singles.

In doubles, Whitman swept all three courts, clinching the team point in the order of No. 3, No. 2, then No. 1. At No. 3, Hanri Luo and Guillermo Rodriguez set the early tone with a 6–1 win over Jake Bronson and Jake Freeland, before Artem Manov and Charles Rush matched that 6–1 scoreline at No. 2 against Luca Cansano and Sohnosuka Sakaguchi. The top pair of Alexander Stage and Niklas Jensen then closed out doubles with a 6–3 victory over AJ Avansino and Hudson Snyder to finish the sweep.

Whitman's depth showed in singles play, where the Blues won all six matches in straight sets. Luo was first off court with a 6–0, 6–0 shutout of Jack Hally at No. 6, and Rodriguez followed with a 6–1, 6–0 win over Snyder at No. 4 to extend the lead. Rush kept the momentum rolling at No. 5, dropping just one game in a 6–2, 6–0 result against Cansano.

At the top of the lineup, Stage and Jensen delivered statement wins to punctuate the sweep. Stage handled Avansino 6–2, 6–1 on court one, while Jensen turned in a 6–2, 6–4 victory over Bronson at No. 2. Manov completed the perfect day with a 6–1, 6–3 triumph over Sakaguchi at No. 3 singles.

With one match left in the regular season, Whitman will look to cap an unbeaten conference slate on Sunday before turning its attention to postseason play as the NWC's top seed.

#GoWhitman

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